Kiss
by Savory
Summary: A collection of one shot stories about different kinds of kisses. Please read introduction for more details. Mostly Bella and Edward but some are in the voices of others. Rated M for language. AH.
1. Introduction

**Introduction**

Kiss is a collection of one shot stories about different types of kisses in different types of situations.

To me a kiss is one of the most intimate things two people can share, even more so at times than sex. Sex, while very passionate and intimate between two people in love, can let's face it just sometimes be sex. But a kiss, well a kiss can be so many things at once.

A kiss can be a hello or a goodbye. A kiss can express joy or sadness. A kiss can be sexy or polite. And unfortunately at times a kiss can be just plain bad.

This collection of one shot stories will be all of the above and hopefully more. Each one will be different, some sweet, some sexy, some hopefully funny and some will be sad. Most of them will be Edward and Bella, but some will be from the others because some stories are just meant to be in other voices. Some are inspired by real life events and some of them are just my overly active imagination.

This collection will be rated M for language more than anything else. There may be some suggestion of lemons but no actual lemons because let's face it the story is called Kiss not Sex!

Hopefully you will enjoy this little exploration of kisses and if you should happen to like one enough to want a little more, let me know and I can try and expand it or if you have an idea for a kiss story let me know as well.

Hope you all enjoy!

**Twilight is owned by S. Meyers. The rest is mine, all mine!**


	2. Culinary Kiss

For those of you who have read my story Drawn In you know that I think there is just something very sexy about cooking.

I am exploring that again here in this first story. I promise not all of them will be cooking related.

For those of you who haven't read my other story yet, why not give it a try, you might just like it.

Hope you enjoy!

Abbreviations

CIA = Culinary Institute of America

BEO = Banquet Event Order

**Twilight is owned by S. Meyers. The rest is mine, all mine!**

* * *

**Culinary Kiss**

_You have reached greatness, speak and be enlightened._ Emmett's smug voice answered his phone.

This was going to be harder than I thought.

"Emmett, how old are you?" I asked very annoyed.

_Old enough to know that it still bugs the hell out of you and therefore I will continue to do it!_

My older brother really could be an ass at times.

"Emmett, please for once in your life be serious?" _Maybe I should just hang up._

_Edward for once in your life will you not be so serious? You use to be fun until you became an all important Sales Manager at The Ritz Carlton. Now you just act like you are better than the rest of the family._ Emmett said jokingly but I knew he felt there was a bit of truth to what he said.

I let out a deep breath and then gathered the courage to continue. "Emmett that's why I am calling you, I…I need your advice on something." I braced myself for the snarky comments to begin but there was nothing. I think the silence made it worse.

"Emmett?" I asked him again, thinking maybe his phone had dropped or something.

_Sorry Edward, I was just checking to see if hell had indeed frozen over._Ah there was the snarky! _Seriously little brother, you want my advice on something?_

"God help me, yes Emmett I need your advice on something."

Emmett was quiet again for another minute and then he spoke.

_Should I meet you at the bar there?_

"No, I need to get out of here. How about we head over to The Plaza, meet you in thirty minutes?"

_Ok Edward, I'll meet you there._

As I walked from work to meet my brother I kept running the day's events through my head. Kept thinking about how I had possibly made a stupid mistake. Thought about the inappropriate reaction that my body had to her, to her innocent gesture, to the song that was playing in the background and how my neatly constructed world had been slowly unraveling all around me because of her.

Bella Swan, beautiful swan.

I got to the bar before my brother and went ahead and ordered drinks for the two of us. I was just about to down the last swig of my beer when Emmett came bounding up next to me. He plopped into the seat next to me on the couch. He had a shit eating grin on his face that reached clearly from ear to ear. He took a drink of his scotch and leaned back in his seat, the grin never leaving his face.

"So little brother, what is her name?" Damn why was he so perceptive about some things and so oblivious about others?

"Bella." I sighed as her name rolled off of my tongue.

"Her name means beautiful? Man are you screwed!" Emmett chuckled as he motioned for the waiter to bring another round of drinks over to our table.

"So tell me about her." Emmett said.

"Where do I begin?"

"How about from the beginning."

So I began the story of how the beautiful, amazing and other worldly Bella Swan came into my life.

It had all started two months ago, May 5th to be exact. That was a day that would be blazoned into my brain for the rest of my life.

I got to work around 11:30 that day. I had been out all morning long meeting with local business leaders selling the virtues of using The Ritz-Carlton for their hotel, meeting and catering needs. I loved my job, enjoyed selling the propriety because let's face it, how could you not love selling The Ritz-Carlton.

I walked into the underground entrance of the hotel and made my way through the labyrinth of hallways that no one ever saw expect employees, to my office. It was if we had our own little world down here, a world that the people who stayed in the hotel would never know. As outdated as it seemed it was almost like there was a class system, alive and well here in New York City, the haves and the have not's, the guest and the employees.

Although I know the reason for the halls was so employees could maneuver around the hotel doing their jobs out of the eye of the public, a public that expected only the very best from the name Ritz-Carlton, it never ceased to amaze me the difference between the front entrance to this hotel and the underground entrance.

As I made my way to my office, I overheard two facilities support men talking about the new girl who had started the night before.

"I'm telling you Marcus, she is the prettiest girl I have ever seen in my life. She walked into the room and I swear it got brighter."

I smiled at the two men and proceeded on to my office wondering who they could be talking about. As I reached the door to the Sales offices, I heard another conversation.

"Did you see the new girl yet Seth? She is the best looking girl I have ever seen." Could they be talking about the same girl?

I opened the door to the sales office and made my way over to my own small office. I sat down in my chair and started to boot up my computer when Jane, one of the sales assistants walked into my office.

"So have you heard the buzz about the new girl yet?" She asked me while sitting down in one of the chairs in front of my desk. Jane and I were pretty good friends and usually ate lunch together. She was easy to talk to and unlike some of the other women I worked with her, she never seemed to be throwing herself at me. She was happily married and planned on staying that way.

"I heard a couple of different guys talking on my way in about a new girl. They all talked about how pretty she is."

"You could say that." She grinned at me, but didn't say anything further.

"So who is she?" I asked my curiosity at full force now.

"She is an intern, working here for the summer. She is going to be working with Tanya and helping out when she goes out on maternity leave."

Tanya was our Sous Pastry Chef. She was very good at her job and everyone seemed to love her to death, including myself. I would go to her kitchen at least twice a week just to talk to her for a few minutes about things non work related. I couldn't imagine them bringing in an intern to help out when she was out on leave. An intern meant a Culinary Arts student, a student who may very well not know how to decorate a cake, let alone make some of the elaborate desserts we served in our restaurants.

"What school is she at currently?"

"CIA" She answered me.

"Well that says something then doesn't it?"

Jane sat there for a minute, looking at me, the smile never leaving her face.

"What?" I asked her.

"Nothing." She coyly answered me. "I'm going to get back to my contracts. Maybe you should wander down to Tanya's kitchen and meet the new girl." She said as she walked out of my office.

Ok that was weird. I couldn't figure out why Jane would be acting like that. My interest was at an all time high now and I wanted to run down there and meet this girl that seemed to be generating a buzz in our underground world, but I knew I needed to focus on a few things before making my way down there.

I picked up my phone and hit my message button and began to listen to the long line of messages I had waiting for me. After I finished the messages, I moved on to check my e-mails and then set out to answer those items that needed to be addressed right away.

I had been working for a few hours, wrapped up in my own little sales world when I began to yawn. I needed coffee and I needed it now or I would never make it until the end of the day. I grabbed my cup and made my way down to the employee cafeteria to pour myself some of the good stuff that would energize my brain.

As I made my way down there I passed several more conversations that all seemed to be centered on the new girl. Not all of the groups were men, many were women and they were not talking about her in a bitchy way, no these women seemed to be just as enamored with this young lady as the men did.

_So who the hell was this girl and what special powers did she posses? _

By the time I reached the employee cafeteria I was dying to meet or at least see this girl. The pastry kitchen was directly beside the cafeteria and I walked into the kitchen hoping Tanya would be there so I could make it seem like I was going to talk to her.

The pastry kitchen was actually a split between a dish room for banquets that occupied the front part of the area and the back part was the pastry kitchen, although kitchen was a loose use of the word. The space had lots of equipment, mixers, proof boxes, freezers, storage and a walk in cooler, but there were no stoves or ovens. They used portable gas burners for stoves and took all things that needed to be baked to the main kitchen. The space was somewhat secluded but it seemed to work well for Tanya. Being the Sous Pastry Chef she handled the desserts for the restaurant and the banquet functions. Our head pastry chef did wedding cakes and our chocolate art. He used the main kitchen primarily so Tanya was on her own back here and that seemed to please her pretty well.

There were several storage shelves that separated the dish area from Tanya's area so often times you could see a body back there through the open wire racks but not see who it was. As I walked into the kitchen I could see a rather large pregnant belly sitting on the counter. I rounded the corner to find Tanya trying to reach for something on a top shelf but having trouble reaching it because of her belly. I also noticed that Tanya was back here by herself.

Just as I started to ask Tanya if she needed any help the door to the walk in opened. The sudden blast of cold air hit me first but when I looked up and saw the reason the door opened I was hit by a wave of sunshine, literally a wave of sunshine.

"Tanya, what are you doing? I told you I would get that for you once I got the eggs." Rang the most amazing heavenly sounding Southern drawl I have heard in my whole life. It sounded like angels singing.

The voice walked over to Tanya and reached up to the shelf, grabbing a can of vanilla beans and handing them to Tanya who was still stretching out trying in vain to reach the same item.

Just then they both looked over at me. "Edward." Tanya said. I just stood there frozen, enraptured by the vision that stood next to Tanya. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen in my life. She wasn't very tall; maybe 5'4" with auburn red hair that was pulled back in a crazy mess of a bundle that reminded me of some of the crazy styles Phoebe wore on _Friends_. Her skin was like cream and I instantly wanted to touch it.

"Edward." Tanya called again breaking me out of my trance.

"Yeah, hey Tanya. How are you feeling? Looks like the little monkey is giving you a hard time." I said trying to distract the fact I had just been a total mute. Tanya had taken to calling her daughter a little monkey saying she was jumping around in there like she was flying through trees.

"I swear she grows three inches every day." Tanya said in a breathy grumble.

The vision walked over to a gas burner that was sitting on the main prep counter. There was a pot that had a metal bowl resting on top of it and judging from the heavenly aroma that was hanging in the air was full of melting chocolate. She began to stir the mixture together and I had this sudden craving for chocolate, not because of the smell but because of the vision that was stirring it around. She next opened a carton of heavy cream and began to pour it into a measuring cup. I couldn't help but look at the liquid as it poured into the cup and once again compare it the color of her skin.

"Edward have you met Bella yet?" Tanya asked me. So this vision in front of me was named Bella.

She looked up at me and smiled. At least I think it was a smile, that was what I knew it logically was called but it felt more like I had been struck by sunbeams.

"No we haven't met yet." Bella's angelic voice cooed out. She walked over to me and held out her hand. "Hey, I'm Bella Swan." She sang, I swear to God, her voice sounded like singing.

I stood there for a moment mesmerized by her before I finally broke myself out of her spell. "Edward…Edward Cullen." I finally mumbled and took her hand looking up into her eyes. The feel of her hand in mine and the sudden realization that her brown eyes were the same luscious color of the chocolate melting in the bowl that she had just stirred just about brought me to my knees.

"It's nice to meet you Edward." She sang again. She stood there holding my hand for a moment, sunbeams coming from her smile once again, before she relaxed the grip of our handshake. She moved back over towards the pot she was previously at and began to crack eggs open, separating them by allowing the egg to fall into her hand, the whites caressing through her fingers into a small mixing bowl, the yolks resting gently in the cup of her hand before she placed them carefully in another bowl. _Son of a bitch that was sexy._

"Bella is doing her internship here this summer and will be helping out Chef Michaels when I am out on leave." Tanya said. I could hear Tanya's words, knew she was talking to me but I couldn't move, couldn't speak. It was like Bella was some kind of siren that had put a spell on me.

"Edward is one of the sales managers here." Tanya said looking at Bella now. "If you ever have a question about one of BEO's Edward or Jane will be able to answer them for you." Tanya said before she looked back over at me. She and Bella both stood there for a moment watching me in my stupor before Tanya saved me. "Isn't that right Edward?" She asked with a hint of a giggle in her voice.

"Uh yeah, right." I managed to get out. _Pull it together Cullen!_

"If you ever need anything, please let me know Bella, I will be more than happy to assist you." I said hoping I sounded as professional as I meant to.

"Thanks Edward." She said as she walked over to the hand sink and began to wash her hands.

Tanya looked at me with a knowing smile and shook her head. I had to get out of there before I made a bigger ass of myself.

"In dire need of coffee." I said hoping that would account for the way I was acting. I turned to walk out of the space that quickly seemed to be closing in on me.

"I'll see you around Edward." Bella's voice sang out to me again and stopped me in my tracks. _God I hoped so._

"You too Bella." I managed to get out before I walked out of the kitchen, mentally kicking myself for acting like such a moron.

"Holy shit little brother." My brother managed to get out in between fits of laughter, breaking me from the Bella trance that I had been under as I told him about that day. "The image of you, the worshipped God of Central Park, standing there like a love struck teenager has to be one of the funniest things I have ever had in my life." He finished before he double over on the couch, holding his side.

"Shut the hell up Emmett or I'm leaving." I growled at him under my breath.

"No you're right…I'm sorry…I'm supposed to be giving you advice." He said while calming himself down from his laughter.

"So, she's really that beautiful huh?" He asked as he finally calmed down.

"Yeah she is, but it isn't just her beauty. It is so much more than that. She is infectious, like she has placed a spell on everyone there. You should see the way people light up as she flashes them a smile when she passes them in the hallways. And she is always smiling and saying hello to people. I'm not sure if it's because she is Southern and just friendlier than the people here in the city or if it is just her personality. She is just always happy, like she's a Smurf!"

"I bet Tanya gave you shit about the way you acted that day. Does she even let you back there anymore?"

"No she never said anything, just smiled at me whenever I would go back there like she knew I was under Bella's spell. Hell everyone is, even Tanya. I made sure though to only go back there every few days. I didn't want Tanya to think I was crazy."

"Makes sense to me." Emmett said with a slight chuckle still lingering in his tone. "Did Tanya have her baby yet, isn't she due any day now?"

"Yeah and in a way I guess you could say that is part of what brings me here today." I sighed. Emmett looked at me with total confusion.

"Tanya actually went into labor a month early. Fortunately she and the baby are both doing really well."

"I'm glad to hear they are doing well, but what does that have to do with advice about Bella?" The look of confusion was still on his face.

"The first three weeks I made sure I stayed away, only going back there once or twice a week, each time doing a little better of a job of not acting like I was stupid. Having Tanya there kind of forced me not to do what I wanted which was go back there every day. Well like I said Tanya went into labor a month early and that meant, Bella was back there by herself."

"You mean to tell me the Ritz-Carlton has left an intern to handle pastries by herself for the past month?" Emmett asked suddenly surprised by my words.

"Emmett, Bella may be an intern, but I'm telling you, this girl has amazing skills when it comes to baking. It is like she was born with a gift. She jumped right in there from the beginning and hit the ground running. From what I understand Tanya had to do little in the way of training. She gave Bella recipes and she was able to have them completed in no time. Chef Michaels even had her assist him with a wedding cake and I have told you what a dick he can be when it comes to his cakes." It's true, the head Pastry Chef thought of his cakes as master pieces and really they were. I had seen him bring grown men to tears in the past yelling at them for putting a flower in the wrong place. Not that they knew it was the wrong place.

"And it's not just the way she maneuvers around the kitchen and is able to just put together a recipe with ease; the stuff she makes is amazing." I sighed as I said this, thinking about the way her treats made me hum. "Tanya is a great chef one of the best in my view point, but I have to tell you, Bella's stuff is so much better. I know they are the same recipes and all but it is like there is this added ingredient and as weird as this sounds and as much as I am probably going to regret telling you this, I think that added ingredient is Bella."

Emmett started to say something but he stopped. I knew he was going to be holding that one back for another time. He nodded his head for me to continue.

"Everyone has been talking about how good of a job she has been doing and I even heard one of the housekeepers say that you could feel the love in the stuff she makes. That is what I meant by the added ingredient was Bella." I said hoping that would keep his future comments at bay.

"OK so I am still not seeing what that has to do with Tanya leaving early."

"Well without Tanya there, I didn't have anyone to keep me in check from going back there every day to see her. And so for the past month I have done just that."

"So are her beauty and the amazing things she bakes the only reasons you go back there every day to see her?" Emmett asked with genuine interest.

"That and all of the little things."

"What little things?"

"She's smart, very smart and easy to talk to. And the things she knows about sports may even put you to shame."

"Really?" Emmett's interest perked up even more.

"Yeah, we talk about football and basketball among other things. She is a huge Tarheels fan and can tell you all about all four years of Tyler Hansbrough's career there. But it's not just basic knowledge that she has. Do you remember that jerk Mike Newton that you met a couple of months back when you came to see me?" Emmett shook his head yes. "Well he seems to think he is God's gift to women and I have seen him on more than one occasion try and impress Bella. One day Bella and I walked into the cafeteria to get lunch to take back to her kitchen to eat together…"

"Wait… you eat lunch with her, back in her kitchen?" Emmett interrupted me. I just shook my head yes. "We'll come back to that one in a minute." He said before he nodded his head for me to continue.

"Anyway it was kind of late and Mike and another guy were the only two in there. The guy and Mike were talking about some fight at one of the NBA playoff games a few weeks back, when Mike saw us walk in together. Mike, I'm sure trying to sound impressive began talking about the differences between the NBA and the NFL and wondering why they didn't fight in the NFL like they did in the NBA. I noticed he was looking at Bella the whole time, trying to judge her interest in what he was spouting out. He began talking about uniforms, pads and the trouble it would take to get all of that stuff off before fighting someone else. He sounded very smug like he knew something Bella didn't and therefore she would be impressed. She just went about making her salad acting as if she had no clue what he was talking about. As we were about to walk out of the door, Bella turned to Mike and said 'The NBA tends to cater more to overblown egos where the NFL doesn't tolerate them and the NFL tends to fine a great deal more than the NBA does for fighting.' With that she gave Mike a brilliant smile and turned and walked out of the room leaving him there dumbfounded. I swear Emmett the look on that smug asses face was one of the funniest things I have ever seen in my life!"

"Damn, I think I am starting to fall for this girl!" Emmett said more to himself than me.

"Emmett." I growled.

"What? Can't a married man dream every now and then?" He innocently asked.

"If you ask Rose that, I'm sure you will get an entirely different, painful answer."

"Tell me about it." He answered me as he reached back and rubbed the back of his head.

"Does she have a nice body?"

"It's hard to tell." I answered honestly.

"Excuse me?"

"Well she wears chef pants that are at least two sizes too big for her along with a chef's coat that is three sizes too big and an apron. She is under so many layers of clothes it's hard to tell."

"That kind of sucks doesn't it."

"A little." I answered.

"So what else about our Bella has you so intrigued?" I choose to ignore the "_our Bella"_ comment.

"Well…I know this is going to sound crazy…but she sings to food."

"What was that?" Emmett asked raising an eyebrow to me.

"Well her being back there by herself most of the time, she always had her iPod Touch going and well she sings. I know it is more that she is just singing, but she looks at the stuff she is putting together while she is singing and it looks like she is signing to the food."

"Interesting." Emmett replied. "So what kind of music does she listen to?"

"This girl has the most eclectic taste in music I have ever heard. It isn't at all surprising to hear her shuffle go from Nine Inch Nails to Tony Bennett to Stevie Ray Vaughn to Justin Timberlake and she seems at ease singing all of them."

"Does she have a pretty voice?"

"Amazing, but it isn't just the way she sings, it's the look on her face, the way she almost sways sometimes to the music. It's really very sexy. I tell you the first time I walked in there and heard and saw her it almost floored me."

"What was she singing?"

"_I Touch Myself_."

"Fuck me, that song by the Divinyls? Damn I bet that shit was hot!" Emmett said. He zoned out for a minute and I could tell he was fantasizing about the image I had just provided him with.

"Emmett so help me if the person you are now imagining is not Rose I will kick your ass and then tell Rose so she can kick your ass too!"

"Of course it's Rosie." He stammered. I couldn't tell if he was lying or not but I had my suspicions he was. "Go on Edward, you were saying."

"Well like I said it is all of those little things and just being near her, talking to her that has me all screwed up. She is so amazing and I so want to ask her out, but my mind keeps telling me there a million reasons not to do so?"

"Like?"

"Well she is only twenty-two."

"And you are only twenty-six, four years isn't that big a deal."

"I know, but she will be gone in a month when Tanya comes back and she goes back to school."

"Again Edward, so? Didn't you say she was at CIA? Well that is here in the city. It's not like she is going back down South right now."

"I know but…"

"But nothing Edward. You obviously like her and if she puts up with your crazy ass every day she must like you a little, so ask her out."

"Well maybe before I could have, but after what I did today there is no way in hell she would ever go out with me." I sighed as I remembered the actions that led me to having to get advice from my brother.

"Edward what the hell did you do?" Emmett asked me with a look of real concern in his eyes.

I sighed again before I spoke. "I told you about the music, about her singing and how sexy it is? Well there are other little things that she does. Like the way she separates eggs, the way her hips sway when she is stirring something together, the way she holds onto a whisk when she is beating egg yolks and sugar together. Just so many little things about her, that are sexy as hell."

"Today I walked back there and she was greasing ramekins. And when I say she was greasing ramekins, I mean her hands were covered in butter and she was rubbing them all around it and all I could think about was her lubricated hands rubbing around me like that. And the whole time she was talking to me like what she was doing was natural and it was, but the movement of her slick hands and the sound of her voice made me hard as a rock!" I looked up thinking I would see disgust or even budding laughter in his eyes, but instead all I saw was lust.

"Emmett so help me!" I growled at him.

"What the fuck Edward, if you don't want me to fantasize about the girl than stop feeding me Bella porn."

"EMMETT!" I growled again.

"Whatever bro, keep going."

I drew in a calming breath, trying to keep from killing my brother for having fantasies about my Bella. _Right as if she was my Bella._

"Just as I thought this image was going to overtake me and I was going to jump her right then and there, her damn iPod started playing _I Want to Sex You Up_."

"No fucking way?" Emmett asked.

"Yes fucking way!" I answered him.

"What did you do?"

"What else could I do, I ducked into the walk in hoping the cold would help to calm me down."

"Did it work?"

"Yeah after a few very long minutes."

"Wasn't she curious about you running and hiding in the walk in."

"Well fortunately I had an empty cup in my hand so I began to look around for something to drink. I found a carton of milk and poured myself a glass. I made sure I was drinking it when I came out of the walk in."

"Edward you hate milk."

"Don't remind me." I shuddered as I thought about having to drink one of the few liquids I hate in order to hide my problem.

"So was that it?"

"No." I whispered.

"Did you say no Edward?"

"Yes Emmett, I said no. When I came back out of the walk in I went over to where she was standing and I just stood next to her, probably closer than I ever have and asked her what exactly it was that she was making. She began telling me about the Warm English Pudding that she was making. She had luckily finished the ramekins and the song had changed to some classical music so I thought I was safe, but as she was telling me about what she was making, I got so caught up in her that I kept inching closer and closer to her and as I got closer her fragrance kind of over powered me and I may have leaned in and inhaled her."

"Excuse me, you may have?" Emmett asked.

"Ok so I did."

"What the hell did she do?"

"Well she looked up at me with such surprise. I froze for a moment, trying to figure out what the hell I could do. I pulled my phone out of my pocket like it had just gone off, looked at the blank screen and told Bella I had to go take care of something and I bolted like a scared rabbit."

"Did she say anything?"

"She just said bye and that I was it. I avoided her the rest of the day."

"Well Edward, I would say that is a bit of a dilemma."

"I know! I have been trying to figure out what the hell to do. Should I just act like nothing happened and see if she says anything or should I get down on my hands and knees and beg for forgiveness?"

"I don't know what to tell you Edward. On the one hand…"

Emmett's words were suddenly lost to me as I looked up. There she was there was my vision, my Bella. I almost didn't recognize her at first. Her hair was down, flowing around her almost bare shoulders, much longer than I could have ever guessed from the crazy way she bundles it up every day at work. She was wearing a little black dress, a black dress that looked like she had just walked off the set of _Breakfast at_ _Tiffany's._ It couldn't really be her. She was at the bar ordering a drink, her body somewhat turned away from me so maybe I was wrong. But then she turned and I knew it was her and suddenly she saw me as well. I waited for her to bolt, waited for her to storm over to me and lay into me for my inappropriate behavior earlier today. She didn't do either of those, instead she got this beautiful smile on her face and she began to walk over to where we were.

"Edward what the hell? Did you hear a word I said?" Emmett's voice broke my Bella trance.

"Bella." I said.

"I know Edward we are talking about her, but did you hear anything…"

"No Emmett, its Bella. She is walking over here right now." I interrupted him.

He looked over to the direction I was pointing with my head. "Fuck me Edward, that's Bella." He said with a hint of a whistle in his voice. All I could do was nod my head yes, I was too mesmerized by the vision of her walking over to us.

"Well little brother all of your questions are about to be answered."

"Edward what a surprise to see you here." Bella's voice sang out. She was smiling that bright sunbeam smile. "Are you shopping the competition?" She asked leaning in to me as if it was a secret.

"No he is slumming it to have a drink with his big brother." Emmett piped in. "Emmett Cullen." He enthusiastically held out his hand for her to shake.

"Bella Swan." She said taking his hand in hers.

"What brings _you_ here?" Emmett asked pointing to a spot next to me for Bella to have a seat which she took. I had yet to say a word or even blink for that matter. I slid down next to her and could feel that same sunbeam warmth that hit me the first time I saw her.

"I am meeting my sister and her husband here for dinner to celebrate his birthday. They just sent me a text that they are about twenty minutes out so now I am waiting for them." She looked over at me, her smile bringing me out of my Bella trance.

"You are more than welcome to sit with us while you wait for them Bella." I said.

"Yeah Edward here was just telling me about the great job you have been doing in Tanya's absence. "

"That's very sweet of you Edward." She said as she looked over at me again with that smile. I swear I wanted to kiss her and kill my brother all at once.

"So Bella, tell me all about yourself." Emmett said taking control of her attention again. _Yeah kissing her would have to wait a moment while I killed my brother._

"What would you like to know?" She asked.

"For starters, where are you from?"

"New York." She answered him before she took a sip of her Yuengling. _Holy shit the girl drinks Yuengling. _

"But your accent is very Southern." Emmett asked her with a look of confusion on his face.

"I'm from Southern New York." She said just as calmly as if he had asked her name.

Emmett sat there for a minute looking at her before it dawned on him that she was messing around with him.

"Beautiful and a smart ass. If I wasn't married, Bella I might just have to whisk you out of here for a little fun." _Defiantly killing my brother._

Bella just laughed at him before she finally answered him. "I'm from Nags Head, North Carolina."

"Wow!" Emmett said. I didn't even know that about her.

"So do you like working at the Ritz-Carlton?" He continued to ask her questions.

"Yes I really do. It has been a real treat to do something that I just love so much. I mean who wouldn't enjoy working with chocolate, butter, sugar and flour all day long. Baking is very sensory, you really do use them all and I am a sensory kind of person. Plus everyone there has been so nice and helpful to me." She said as she looked back at me with a big smile on her face.

"Some more so than others." I said a little louder than I had planned on thinking about Mike and his attempts to get her attention.

"Who are you talking about?" Bella asked.

"I was just thinking about Mike Newton. He always seems to be trying to impress you." I said hoping I hadn't done or said something else to possibly upset her. The look on her face wasn't helping me out any. Shit maybe she didn't mind the stuff he did, maybe she liked him.

"Unless of course you like that kind of thing." I said my voice trailing off hoping it wasn't true.

"Oh heavens no, that man is a walking bullshit factory. Besides that he is dumber than damn it!" She said with a smile on her face still looking at me. The sound of Emmett almost choking on his drink caused both of us to look in his direction.

"I'm sorry Bella, did you say he's dumber than damn it?' He asked wiping his mouth.

"Yeah haven't you heard that before?" She asked.

"No!" Emmett and I both answered her at the same time.

"Must be a Southern thing." She shrugged.

"Not anymore it's not; I'll be stealing that one from you if you don't mind." Emmett said with a huge grin on his face.

"Steal away darling!" She said. The word darling drawling off her tongue in the most amazing of Southern sounds.

Emmett and Bella began to talk about nothing in general and I sat there watching her, listening to her words and thinking to myself, no resolving with myself that I would get to know the amazingly, other worldly beauty better. I knew right then and there I would ask her out, would take a chance that she might reject me and run from me after slapping the shit out of me, but it would be worth it just not to regret never having asked Bella Swan out on a date.

"Bella." A sweet southern accented voice called, pulling me from yet another Bella trance.

"Hey Alice." Bella answered, standing up to greet who I could only assume was her sister.

"Alice, I would like you to meet Edward and Emmett Cullen. Gentlemen this is my big sister Alice Whitlock. Edward and I work together and as you can probably gather, Emmett is his older brother. They were keeping me company while I waited."

Emmett and I stood and shook Alice's hand and I couldn't help but notice the look that was exchanged between Bella and Alice after Alice shook my hand.

"Pleasure to meet you boys. Thanks for looking out for my little sister here." She had the same radiant smile Bella had.

"Where's Jasper?" Bella asked.

Before Alice could answer her Emmett interrupted.

"Wait, Jasper Whitlock? Did he go to Columbia?" he asked.

"One and the same." Alice said with a smile pointing over to a tall blonde man who was talking to the hostess.

Emmett's eyes got real big when he saw the man seeming to recognize him. "Holy shit we were frat brothers."

"Well come on darling, let me reacquaint you with him." Alice said as she took Emmett's arm and led him over to Jasper.

I was looking at Bella as she watched the scene of Jasper and Emmett getting reacquainted unfolding in front of her. Watching the smile light up her face I knew I had to say something. Knew I had to ask her out.

"Bella." She turned to look at me, her smile getting even bigger. "Bella…I…was…just…well I…was wondering…" Damn it I was stammering like a nervous teenager asking a girl to go to a dance with him. I wanted to kick myself, when Bella moved closer to me, her body touching mine. She looked up at me with those amazing eyes and I was speechless. She stood up on her tippy toes, her face drawing ever closer to mine, the scent of her intoxicating me. The closer she got to me, the deeper I fell into her and then into the infinity of her.

Her sweet, soft lips were on mine, softly at first, and then, slowly the feel of them deepened, pressed a little further into mine, taking my bottom lip softly in between her apricot glossed lips before she slowly pulled away.

"Edward, I would love to go out with you." She said before she lowered herself back down until her feet were back flat on the ground.

She looked over to see Emmett motioning the two of us to come and join Alice, Jasper and himself. I guessed we were going to be having dinner together tonight.

Still not being able to move, Bella took my hand in hers and led me towards the rest of our growing party. We stood there holding hands, waiting for them to finish our table setting. Bella chatted with the others while I stood there still in a stupor.

As the hostess came to show us to our table, Bella and I followed the others, her hand still holding on to mine. She looked back at me before we reached to the table, stopping in her pace. She stood back on her toes again bringing her lips to my ear.

"In case you were wondering, this doesn't count as our first date." Her voice was whispery, dripping in southern sexuality and absolutely glorious.

She kissed my cheek this time and drowned me in her sunbeam smile before she turned to head to the table again, her hand still in mine.

It was safe to say I was a goner, and quite honestly I couldn't be happier in the knowledge of that!

* * *

So let me know what you think about this story and about the idea in general of doing little stories about kisses. Looking forward to exploring this more and getting feedback.

Culinary kisses to all!


	3. Elevator Fantasy Kiss

The idea for this short little kiss story came to me one day when I got on to an elevator and began

to wonder what could be going through the minds of the other people that were sharing the ride down with me.

This little fantasy sequence is what came into my crazy little mind. The story is short, but than again so are elevator rides.

Now as crazy as it may seem, this one is actually a Bella/Emmett story but only because the guy in this just

screamed Emmett to me and not Edward. Hopefully you will agree once you have read it.

Enjoy!

**SMeyers owns all things Twilight but I am having fun playing with them a little.**

* * *

**Elevator Fantasy Kiss**

The elevator doors open on the 35th floor headed down. On the elevator stands the beautiful Bella Swan. The door opens to reveal the handsome Emmett McCarty standing before her. He smiles at her as he gets on the elevator. He moves to the back corner opposite of the one that she stands in. She looks up and catches his eye and smiles a sweet lingering smile.

As the floors ding by the two continue to look at each other shyly with curious smiles on their faces.

_I wonder what it would be like to kiss him?_ She thinks to herself.

That quick thought leads to an entire life time of images.

In her mind:

_Him asking her out._

_Their first date together._

_Walking on the beach holding hands._

_Laughing and smiling together in the park._

_Him dropping to one knee and proposing to her._

_Their wedding day._

_Her showing him a pregnancy test that is positive._

_Him smiling at her while holding their baby in the hospital._

_The two of them watching their sons play in the back yard._

Another ding of a passing floor brings Bella quickly back to reality and she blushes a deep crimson in response to her thoughts.

The lovely color of her blush makes Emmett smile even bigger. _I wonder what it would be_ _like to kiss her?_ He thinks to himself.

That quick thought leads to Emmett's own set of images.

In his mind:

_She grabs him and slams him up against the back of the elevator._

_She kisses him hard and with purpose._

_She rips at his shirt._

_She wraps her leg around him and presses up against him as the two of _

_them begin to go at it wildly._

The elevator stopping on the 15th floor brings him out of his Penthouse bliss.

Beyond the doors is the beautiful Rosalie Hale waiting to get onto the elevator. Bella notices that Emmett smiles at Rosalie the same way he did at her only moments ago.

She quickly looks at the two of them with such anger.

Her mind is suddenly flooded with a new set of images.

_Flashes of their beautiful life crumble as he laughs with this other woman._

_Too many nights of working late._

_Spoiled, cold dinners on the table._

_The two of them fighting constantly._

_Her being served with divorce papers._

_The children crying for their daddy as he walks out the door with his bags and puts them into a convertible driven by Rosalie._

_The lonely bitterness of finishing an empty bottle of Vodka._

The beautiful blush on Bella's face only moments ago is quickly replaced by the red of anger and hatred.

Emmett unfortunately mistakes this color to once again be that curious blush. He looks at Rosalie and then at Bella with a devious gleam in his eyes.

His mind is suddenly flooded with a new sexy set of images.

_Flashes of every man's fantasy._

_Bella takes Rosalie by the hand and brings her closer to her._

_The two women kiss and begin to undress each other._

_The two women turn their attention to Emmett while they continue to lustily grope one another._

_Bella pulls Emmett closer into the waiting lips of Rosalie while Bella begins to remove his clothes from him._

The elevator bell dings, sadly bringing Emmett out of his fantasy. The door opens to the ground floor, and Rosalie walks off the elevator without a word or a backward glance.

As Bella goes to exit the elevator herself, Emmett gently grabs her elbow wanting very badly to ask her out and maybe have a part of his fantasy come true.

Bella stops dead in her tracks, turns to look at Emmett with nothing but anger in her eyes and slaps him in the face!

"Bastard!" She scowls as she storms off the elevator.

Emmett stands there shocked, his hand gently rubbing his now stinking cheek. _What the_ _fuck!_ He thinks to himself as the elevator door closes and he is forced to ride back up again.

* * *

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think or if you have any ideas for kiss stories!

Much love!


	4. Blues Kiss

**All things Twilight owned by S. Meyers**

**Music used for this story as follows:**

**The Sky is Crying – Stevie Ray Vaughn**

**How do You Mend a Broken Heart? – Al Green**

**Ain't no Sunshine – Bill Withers**

**Feelin Good – Nina Simone**

**Better Man = James Morrison**

* * *

**Blues Kiss**

"Edward, I'm getting married." Bella said, holding up her hand, showing me her ring. I just stood there, my mouth hanging open. I should be happy for her. My best friend just told me she was getting married. I should be happy right?

"No." I whisper.

The smile on Bella's face began to fall. "I'm sorry Edward I missed that what did you say?"

I should tell her that I am happy for her, take her in my arms hugging her, telling her how happy I am for her.

"No." I said instead, my voice louder this time.

"No?" She looked at me with hurt in her eyes.

"No Bella, you can't get married. You don't love him." I answer her, my voice growing even louder.

"How the hell would you know if I loved him or not?" She asks me. I can see the hurt in her eyes slowly being replaced with anger.

"Because I am your best friend Bella. I know you better than you know yourself and I know you do not love Mike." I am screaming at this point.

"If I didn't love him than why would I say yes, why the hell am I wearing this ring?" Bella was screaming now to.

"Because of your dad." I shouldn't have said it, I knew it was low and that it would hurt her, but damn my angry mind I threw it out at her.

"Fuck you Edward!" She screamed at me. I could see the tears starting to pool up in her eyes. She grabbed her purse and started for the door.

I couldn't let her leave, not like this. I had to stop her, had to tell her the truth, the truth that I was just now willing to admit to myself.

"Bella wait." I said, grabbing her hand in desperation.

"What Edward. What the hell could you possibly say to me after that that would make me want to listen to another word out of your damn mouth." I could see the pain in her eyes. She ripped her hand out of mine and headed for the door again.

"I'm in love with you."

Bell stopped dead in her tracks. I could see her head fall, her shoulders slump.

"What?" She asked, not looking at me.

"Bella I'm in love with you. I have been for I think as long as I have known you, but I was too stupid to realize it or admit until now."

"Edward you love me, but you are not in love with me." She still would not look at me.

"No… I mean… yes Bella I do love you, but I am also in love with you. I have been fooling myself all of these years, telling myself that all of the things I have felt didn't mean anything, that it was just me being silly, but Bella, now more than ever I know that I am in love with you. I don't want to lose you Bella."

Bella turned and walked over to me, placing her hand gently on my arm. I looked down at her hand on my arm. The feeling was amazing, how had I missed that feeling all of these years?

"Edward, you are not going to lose me. Just because I am getting married that doesn't mean things between us are going to change."

I looked up at her and she had a look of pity on her face. "You think that is why I told you I am in love with you, because I am worried about losing your friendship? Bella if I was truly worried about losing that I wouldn't have said a word at all."

She removed her hand from my arm and just stared at me.

"Edward what are you telling me?"

"Bella I am telling you that I am in love with you. That I have been in love with you for a very long time now but I never wanted to admit it to myself."

"Why now Edward, why are you telling me this now?"

"Because I don't want you to marry him, I don't think you are in love with him. I think you are marrying him for all of the wrong reasons. I think that you are in love with me too, but maybe just haven't been able to admit it yet either. I think…"

"Edward stop." She interrupted me. "Stop before you make this worse than it already is. You're scared Edward. Me getting married scares you because your fall back girl is now out of the picture."

"That's what you think this is? You think I see you as my spare, someone to keep in waiting so when I hit forty I will not be alone?"

"Of course it is Edward. I have watched you for years bounce from one relationship to the next, never settling down, never seeming to hold interest beyond a few weeks. And I have always been there, waiting in the wings to be your friend again once the bimbo of the month was on her way out. You always knew I would be there for you and now that option is being taken away from you and it scares you."

"That's bullshit Bella."

"Is it really bullshit Edward? Can you honestly stand there and say you would be telling me this if it weren't for the fact that I am getting married? You knew things were getting close with Mike and me, you knew this was a possibility and now that it is here you are, scared to death of being alone. Well I cannot be your fall back Edward. I cannot sit around anymore and wait for you to decide that I'm the one."

"I didn't know that you were close to getting married. How could I, you never talk about Mike. You never let on to the fact the two of you were that close. In fact the last thing you told me about Mike was that you only let him stick around to placate your father. That is how I know you don't love him Bella and that is how I know you shouldn't be marrying him."

"I can't do this Edward. I can't deal with this right now." She moved for the door again, but I could see that she was starting to break, could tell that she was wavering. I couldn't let her leave. I had to put it all out on the line, had to tell her everything.

"Bella, please don't leave, please let me finish."

She stopped, but wouldn't turn to look at me.

"Bella, you were right about one thing. You telling me you are getting married does scare me, but not for the reasons that you think." Bella turned to face me, a mixture of anger and pain on her face. "When you told me you were getting married my world suddenly stopped. It felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest. Then it hit me suddenly, the only reason I felt like that is because I am in love with you. It has nothing to do with being alone, it has everything to do with the fact that I don't want to lose you. I have been so stupid, so blind not to see that it's you Bella, it has always been you. You are the most beautiful person I have ever known in my whole life. Your voice makes me smile, your smile melts my heart and your touch electrifies my soul. You are everything to me Bella, you are my world. Is it shitty timing that I would figure it out now, of course it is, but Bella I cannot deny the fact that I am standing here, my world crashing down around me out of fear of losing you."

Bella just stood there, tears starting to fall down her face. She didn't speak, she didn't move, she just stood there. Then she turned, turned to walk out the door, out of my life forever. I had to do something, my words were not working, action was my only hope. I rushed over to her, to stop her from leaving, blocking her from the door. She wouldn't look at me. I grabbed her hand, still no eye to eye contact made. I gently took her face in my hands, making her look at me, feeling the warmth of her tears on my hand. I pulled her closer to me, felt the warmth of her breath on my nose.

This was my last chance. I had to take it or lose her forever. I leaned in and brushed my lips against hers. Gently at first, but as I moved closer to her, the intensity in which I kissed her increased. She was hesitant at first, but then she leaned into me for just a moment, losing herself in our kiss.

Suddenly she pulled away from me, tears still running down her face. She looked at me for a moment her emotions running from bliss to confusion to pain to anger. I started to say something when her hand raised and connected with my cheek. The sensation of the sting hit my cheek as well as my heart. She looked at me for a moment, so much anger in her face and then she left, sounds of the slamming door worsening the pain.

I stood there waiting, waiting for her to come back in. That's what they did in the movies right? Once the man tells his best friend that he is love with her, they kiss she leaves but then she always comes back, always comes back and tells him that indeed she loves him as well. So I stood there not moving, stunned but knowing that she would be coming back. She had to come back, this wasn't the end, could not be the end.

I stood there for an hour, for an hour I waited for her. But she didn't come back. She didn't come back and tell me how much she loved me too. She didn't come back and gently kiss my stinging cheek and hold my wounded heart. She was just gone; the true love of my live was just gone.

Suddenly the walls of my living room were closing in on me. I couldn't breathe. Every ounce of my body, my being and my existence hurt and I had to get out of there, had to leave before everything closed in on me and consumed me.

I grabbed my keys and rushed out the door to my car. It was raining now although it hadn't been an hour ago. It was as if the heavens shared in the grief that I held. I got into my car, not knowing where I was going, having no destination in mind. I just needed to get out of there, I just needed to drive and clear my head. I hooked my iPod up, needing the music to help soothe my broken heart. By luck of the draw my blues list was on and I didn't bother to change it, sensing that the music gods knew I needed the nectar of my blues drug to dull the pain that radiated from my soul.

_The sky is crying _

_Can you see the tears roll down the street? _

It isn't supposed to be like this. It never is in the movies. In the movies there is always a happy ending right? No matter how bad the story, no matter how cheesy the confession, the guy always gets the girl.

But this isn't a movie, this is real life, this is my life and I was too late. Too late to realize, too late to know that the love of my life, my soul mate was in front of me the whole time and I did nothing about it, pissed away the chance to be happy forever. And now my joy was going to be given to Mike Newton of all people. My happily ever after was going to be enjoyed by one of the biggest idiots on the face of this planet. He would never understand the true magic of Bella Swan; he would never know what a privilege it was to have her by his side.

How could he, how could I not? She was there all along, in front of me the whole time and I was too stupid, too blind to see. She was the sun and the moon. She was the sand and the sea. She was perfect, she was everything and now she was gone.

_How can you mend a broken heart?_

_How can you stop the rain from falling down?_

The sound track of my current life switches to its next tune, so perfectly scored.

I can't help but think back to her words. To her telling me she cannot sit around anymore and wait for me to decide that she is the one. Did that mean that she had the same feelings for me? Could I have been so blind all of this time to not see the way she felt about me. Was it there in her touch, in the way she smiled, in the way she said my name? Was it there all along and I was too wrapped up in my own self to notice?

How could I have been so daft? How could I not see it? How could I not know? And now that I do what can I do about it?

Nothing.

There is nothing to be done because I poured my heart out to her; laid it all on the line but it was too late. I waited too long, took too much time to know, to see and now it was too late. My movie ending was not to be a sugary sweet chick flick; instead it was to be a cruel realist outing.

_Ain't no sunshine when she's gone._

_Only darkness every day._

The rain lessens as the sound track moves on to the next tune.

What else have I missed? What else have I not seen?

I look ahead of me and see the dark skies and rain on my windshield, but something to the right of me catches my eyes and I look over to see clearing skies, the setting sun peaking through the dark clouds, gray skies fading into a mixture of blues, reds and oranges. I look to my left and see a beautiful vibrant rainbow in the clearing sky. I am suddenly overwhelmed by the beauty of it all. For the first time in my life I see the beauty of the world unfolding in front of me.

Seeing the true beauty of Bella, the true beauty of my love for her has given me clarity of mind and that clarity has helped me to see everything. What else have I missed? What other beautiful things have I missed in my life? I suddenly know that I must spend the rest of my life finding these things, reveling in these beauties.

My soul feels a little lighter; my heart doesn't hurt quite as bad. I may not have Bella, but maybe I can use this as my muse, my inspiration to be better, to share with the world all that my eyes now see because of the clarity of mind that Bella has given me.

I look to the right again and realize I am close to the exit for my house. I'm not sure how long I have been driving around but I feel a bit better and know that it is time to return home. Time to deal with all that has transpired in the last few hours. Time to man up, to make it better with Bella, to accept friendship if that is what the cards hold for me.

_Stars when you shine you know how I feel_

_Scent on the pine you know how I feel_

_Oh freedom is mine and I know how I feel_

_It's a new dawn its and new day for me_

_And I'm feeling good._

As the soundtrack changes again I can feel the air in the car getting lighter. It is still blues, but a better feeling blue. The closer I get to my house the lighter I feel. As I pull onto my street I have this sense of glee, like maybe just maybe everything will be ok. I pull into the driveway and turn off my ignition, sitting there for a moment. Gathering my courage to go back inside and face this new world.

Through the haze of the still lingering sprinkle of rain and the fog of my windshield I see movement on my front porch. A vision of light rises up and beams in my direction. I slowly open my door and get out of my car. The vision of beauty that stands under the cover of my porch is my love, my Bella. I stand there in the mist of the dying rain, waiting, waiting to see what she does, waiting to see what she feels.

She looks at me for a moment before slowly moving closer to me. She gingerly raises her left hand and reveals emptiness. The ring that she so proudly displayed earlier is now gone. The smile on her face rises as her bare hand does and by the time it meets the beauty of her face, her smile is connected from ear to ear.

I stand there for only a moment, the meaning of what she is showing me taking only seconds to register with me and then I fly towards her as she rushes towards me. I sweep her up into my arms and it feels like home, like she should have been there all along. She wraps her arms around my shoulders, her legs around my waist and I feel the salt of our tears stinging my cheeks.

She moves her hands to my face, looking into my eyes, all of her thoughts and her emotions pour into me. Her sweet soft lips graze mine, gently at first but then grab hold of me with fierce passion. Her mouth opens slightly, inviting me in and I accept, my tongue finding shelter with her own. We stay locked in our embrace, locked in heaven. The misting rain falling down moistens our skin, mixing in with our tears of joy.

"I love you Edward, I have always loved you!" Bella says as she pulls away from our kiss.

"Always Bella, always my sweet love." I answer her before returning to her kiss, before returning home.

_And I want to say  
That you are all that I need  
For you, I give my soul to keep  
You see me, love me  
Just the way I am  
For you I am a better man_

The soundtrack of my life changes again to reflect the moment. It is still slow and bluesy but with all of the heart and meaning of that moment. And yes I am out of the car and yes the iPod no longer plays, but this is my movie right? And every movie happy ending must have the perfect song.

* * *

A/N: One day I was driving home from the mall, it was raining and dark as I looked ahead of me, but as I looked over to the right I could see the sky clearing and the setting sun breaking through the clouds. Looking over to the left of me there was a beautiful rainbow, all of this while _Ain't no Sunshine_ played from my iPod. I recounted the beauty of the moment and the pictures that I took on my Facebook page and one of my friends commented back that it sounded like something out of a movie. I came back and told her the scene would play out almost word for word as the ending of this story does. Of course all of that led to the inspiration for this story.

There is beauty all around and I wish for all of you the clarity of mind to revel in it and find your own inspirations.

Hope you enjoyed it, please let me know what you think!


	5. Margarita Kiss

_**SM owns all things Twilight all music is owned by the groups listed below. I am just bending them to my imagination and will!**_

_**Dance song play list for this short story.**_

_**Under the Boardwalk – The Drifters**_

_**SexyBack – Justin Timberlake**_

_**The Joker – The Steve Miller Band**_

_**It Wasn't Me – Shaggy**_

_**Tainted Love – Soft Cell**_

_**

* * *

**_

**Margarita Kiss**

"Check out that guy." Alice said leaning into my ear so I could hear her over the sound of the music. I looked over to where she was pointing and saw a tall guy with blond hair talking to another guy as they were waiting to get the attention of the bartender. It was obvious he was military, from the cut of hair to the stance he stood to the build of his body.

Finding military guys in a bar in Myrtle Beach was not uncommon at all. After all Camp Lejeune and Fort Bragg were only hours away from here. This was a good place for them to get away from everything for the weekend.

"He's cute." I responded.

"Bella sweetie that boy is more than cute, he is walking sex."

Alice's words made me laugh and as I looked over to look him over again, the guy he was talking to turned around and my breath caught. Even in the darkly lit night club I could see the beauty of his eyes. They were deep green and seemed to pierce through his long thick lashes. And it wasn't just his eyes, it was his cheek bone, his jaw line, his lips, no two ways around it, he was beautiful. Everything about him was beautiful, even though his hair was cut in a typical military high and tight, the auburn color sparkled in the neon glow of the bar. He was as tall as Alice's walking sex, but his body was a bit leaner but still muscular. He looked like he should be gracing the walls of an Abercrombie and Finch and not leaning against the bar at Senor Frogs.

"Hello sexy beast!" Rosalie's voice brought me out of the trance I was in. I looked up to see her gaze fixed decidedly on a guy on the other side of walking sex. The guy was massive, with dark hair and dark eyes. His muscles had muscles and one of them was sporting an Airborne tattoo. Ah so they were from Bragg, 82nd Airborne it appeared.

As I was looking at him he looked up and caught Rosalie's eyes. He stood there for just a moment before he rushed over to her side, a grin as wide as a mile gracing his face.

"Hello my future first ex-wife." He smirked.

"No, no darling after me there will be no second or ex for I will ruin you for all other women." She smirked back at him.

"Fuck me sideways." He responded clearly shocked she would come back at him like that.

"Maybe later if you play your cards right" Rosalie winked at him. "But first you have to buy me a drink and tell me your name."

"My name is Emmett McCarty, and this is Edward Cullen and Jasper Whitlock." When he mentioned the other names I looked over to see that the model and walking sex and worked their way over to our table as well. It was a small round bar table with Rose on one side of me and Alice on the other. Emmett was beside Rosalie with Edward the model across the table from me and Jasper the walking sex standing next to Alice.

"I'm Rosalie Hale and these are my friends Bella Swan and Alice Brandon." Rose answered him pointing to Alice and me but never taking her eyes off of Emmett.

Everyone said their hellos and Rosalie and Emmett and Alice and Jasper set into their own conversations, leaving Edward and I to sit or stand there quietly. I didn't know if it was our proximity to one another or the fact that he was just not interested in me, but to say it was awkward would be an understatement.

Emmett ordered a couple of round of shots for the table and once they arrived we did the glass clink thing and threw back the shots before the outer duos went back to their conversations. I glanced up a few times and noticed Edward looking at me. We would exchange smiles but with a table between us and neither of making a move closer to the other all we could do was look at each other and smile.

I looked over at the outer duos and watched as they stared into each other eyes, all gooey and silly, like they were love sick kids. I looked back over to Edward and saw him doing the same. I also watched as several girls walked past Edward, trying to get his attention some even bumping into him accidently on purpose but none of them seemed to garner his attention. Well at least he wasn't attracted to half dressed hoochies. Maybe he was gay, of course he was in the military so that would have been harder to pull off but hey don't ask don't tell right? A very tall, skinny drink glass with a long straw sticking out of it that he had sitting beside him wasn't helping the straight card argument

I needed to clear my head so I told Alice I was going to go to the restroom. I don't really know that she heard me, but she did wave her hand so I knew she at least knew something. As I walked towards the bathroom I couldn't get Edward out of my mind. Why was he so quiet? Why wouldn't he speak to me? Even if he was gay it had to beat the awkwardness of just standing there right? Luckily the line to the bathroom wasn't too long and as I stood there I made the decision to at least talk to him. The worse he could do was tell me to piss off and the best would be talking to a really beautiful guy. Either way it seemed better to me than sitting around watching the gooey duos and their fornicating eye fest!

_You can do this!_ I thought to myself as I looked in the dimly lit mirror in the bathroom. As I reapplied my lip gloss I tried to figure out an opening line, a way to get the conversation going. I suddenly wished for another shot of liquid courage and in doing so my mind drifted back to that drink he had beside him but didn't seem to be drinking. What the hell was that thing?

And then it hit me! That would be my opening line. I walked out of the bathroom, my head held high until the realization hit me that more than likely when I walked back out there he would either be gone or he would be covered in hooch! My nerves started to get the better of me and I almost turned around to hide back in the bathroom.

_Aw to hell with it!_ I thought to myself and I headed back to the table. Once I got around the corner I could still see the duos heavy in their conversations and poor Edward standing there looking so out of place, not a hooch in sight and that damn drink still sitting on the table beside him.

_It's now or never!_

I walk over to the table and stand right next to him. I lean into him to speak, suddenly worried that I will scare him with my close proximity once he becomes aware of it.

"So I have to ask, what is the deal with the drink?" I ask nodding to the tall concoction.

Instead of jumping in fright he turns to me with a very sexy smile on his face as if he had been expecting my arrival. Nor did he seem surprised by my opening line.

"My mates here thought it would be funny if they bought me a girlie, no offense, drink and I haven't the heart to toss it, you know wasted money and all." _Holy shit he's British._

"Well that's very responsible of you. Your mother must have raised you right." _Where the hell did that come from?_

"Yeah mum was always a stickler when it came to waste not want not." _Well this was a weird conversation._

"You're accent is quiet lovely by the way." He said with a crooked grin on his face that reached his eyes.

"That's sweet of you to say, but darling around here you are the one with the accent, not me." I chuckled and returned his smile.

"True, but to me you all have accents and I can say without a doubt yours is the loveliest I have heard so far." I could feel the blush taking over my face and I hoped that the dim lights would help to shield the pink. The gentle touch of his finger stroking my cheek told me otherwise which of course made me blush even more.

I glanced over to the duos and noticed that both sets were deep in conversation oblivious to anything around them despite the music suddenly getting much louder. It seems the bar was transitioning from being a restaurant to a night club.

"It seems our friends have lost themselves in one another." He said. I could feel the warmth of his breath on my neck as he moved closer to me and was speaking into my ear so I could hear him over the music. The warmth of his breath and the closeness of his body sent a shiver down mine.

"I believe you are right." I answered him back leaning into his ear. He smelled so amazing, just a hint of cologne, clean laundry and beautiful man.

"Are you 82nd as well or just visiting the states?" I asked trying to keep the conversation going and really wanting to hear his voice again.

"Actually I am 16th Air Assault Brigade which is more or less the British version of 82nd. There are a few of us over here training with your boys. We have been here for about two weeks now and these blokes were nice enough to bring me with them this weekend to play some golf and just get away."

"Wow!" Was my lame ass reply. I'm not sure if it was his voice, the close proximity of his body or the words he had just spoken, but I found myself somewhat dumbstruck.

"So is this your first time in the states?" I asked trying to recover.

"It is and I have to say I am beginning to like it more and more." He said giving me a wink. _Oh holy shit I think I may have just orgasmed a little. _"Have you ever been to the UK?"

"No I haven't really been out of the South with the exception of going to the Bahamas once. I have always wanted to go though."

"We would love to have you." He answered with the most amazing smile.

We spent the next hour talking to each other about nothing in particular; all the while we were leaning into each other so that we could hear the other.

"Let's head over to one of the other bars." Emmett announced around eleven o'clock. "Rosie here says that Malibu is a great place to go and dance as is Boca's. We can pay to get into one and then get into the other one as well as a third bar." Emmett waited only a moment for our reply before he took Rose's hand lifting her off the stool and heading out the door. Jasper and Alice followed them shortly thereafter.

"I guess we are heading out love." Edward said as he held his hand out for mine. I took his hand readily and felt a jolt run up my arm.

We walked out of the bar we were just in and headed over to Celebrity Square which housed all of the night clubs that were at Broadway at the Beach. Edward held my hand the whole time. We stopped before we got to the clubs watching a group of people dancing outside. It appeared there was a dance contest going on, _Under the Boardwalk_ by The Drifters playing from loud speakers.

"What are they doing?" Edward asked.

"They're Shagging." I answered him.

Edward, who had raised his cup to his lips to take a swig of his beer, sputtered and began to choke on the liquid.

"Bella love, they are not shagging." He finally managed to get out.

"It's Shag dancing not Shag shagging Edward." I could feel the blush taking over my face instantly as I realized why saying this caused him to choke on his drink. "That is the name of the dance they are doing. It is something that originated here on the East Coast."

"I guess that is one of those same word different meaning things." He said clearing his throat. "Imagine how much fun I will have though going home and telling my mates that I saw an actual shagging contest out in the open like this while I was in the states. I bet they will all be dying to come over here than." He winked at me as he finished.

The blush that was on my face moments ago only deepened and I hid my face into his arm. He took his finger and placed it under my chin, gently lifting it up.

"Please don't hide that beautiful face from me love, that blush is just amazing." And now it was ten shades deeper.

After watching the Shag contest for a little longer we made our way over to the entrance of Broadway Louie's, the bar that connected Club Boca and Malibu. The line to get in there was shorter than it was at the other two bars and since they all connected we figured it was easier to get in that way.

When Edward showed his British military id the bouncer at the door refused to let him in at first, saying he needed an American id to get in.

"What the fuck man, he's military, it shouldn't matter if he is American or not." Emmett said as he stood toe to toe with the bouncer.

"It does matter and if you don't watch it you won't be going in either." The bouncer came back at Emmett.

"It's no problem mate…" Edward started to say when another bouncer came over to where our group stood.

"What's the hold up Jared?" he asked the bouncer giving us a hard time.

"This guy doesn't have an American id and I refused to let him in." Jared answered holding Edwards's id up to the new guy who took it in his hand and began examining it.

"Quit being a prick Jared and let this guy in, he's military." The new guy said giving Edward back his id.

"But Sam how do we know it isn't fake?"

"Look at him you dumbass, he's military and it's real." Sam responded before waving Edward in and taking the rest of our ids to check. Jared sat there and stewed as Sam saluted Edward, Emmet and Jasper which they returned before we headed into the club.

When we got to the door Edward insisted he pay my way in before taking my hand once again and leading me inside.

Broadway Louie's was a little space that consisted of a small dance floor in front of a large stage which currently housed a live band that wasn't half bad but were finishing up their current set. There was a bar just off of the entrance and behind the stage was a hallway where if you turned right you went Techno at Club Boca and if you turned left you went Dance at Malibu.

"I want Techno." Alice said as she grabbed Jasper's hand and drug him to the right.

"I like Malibu's better." Rose said as she grabbed Emmett's hand and pulled him to the left.

"Which do you prefer?" Edward asked leaning into my ear. His smell over took me and I couldn't help but shiver again.

"Actually I was hoping to get a drink first." I answered him pointed back to the bar behind us.

He took my hand and led me over to the bar, placing me in front of him at the bar while he shielded himself around me trying to get the bartender's attention.

"What'll you have love?"

"A margarita on the rocks with salt." I answered him.

The bartender came over and took our order and turned to fix our drinks. Now that the band had finished up they were playing music through the speakers and Justin Timberlake's _SexyBack_ came on.

I'm not sure if it was the music, the shots from earlier or the closeness of Edward, but as we stood there and waited I found myself dancing in a way that led me to shimmy my body down between the bar and Edward. I had my back to him so I couldn't see his face but the moan I heard coming from behind told me volumes. _So he liked my shimmy!_

As I came back up he leaned in to say something to me as the bartender came back with our drinks and gave us the total. Edward paid the tab, his body getter closer and closer to mine the whole time.

He grabbed his Stella and handed me my drink as I turned to face him. I was still wedged in between him and the bar but now I was standing chest to chest with him.

I took a sip of my drink through the little straw that was sitting in the cup, trying to steady my body from erupting with pleasure at how close Edward was to me.

"So how do you get the salt off the rim if you drink it through a straw?" Edward asked me leaning in to my ear, pressing his body further into mine.

I looked at him for a moment than I proceeded to lick the rim of the cup, making sure my tongue lingered longer than necessary outside of my mouth before returning to the straw to suck.

He stood there for a moment, I think trying to recover from my little show. "Do that again." He said and of course I obliged.

As soon as I licked the other side of the rim, Edward moved into me, his lips taking mine in suddenly, his tongue licking the salt that hit my lips before nudging it into my mouth. I stood there for just a moment, stunned by his quick movement before I lost myself in his kiss and soon my tongue was dancing with his.

We stood there, pressed against each other against the bar, lost in the kiss until we had to pull apart to breath.

"Perfect." Edward said in a raspy voice.

"Mhmm." I managed to get out, the feel of his lips still lingering against my own.

He looked at me with the sexiest of grins on his face before he took my hand and led me to the hallway to find our friends.

We headed to the right first and joined Alice and Jasper on the dance floor. We danced to Techno music for a good hour straight, our bodies pushed closer and closer together by the thumping movements of those around us. We were bumped and knocked, but neither one of cared. As our bodies moved together our eyes stayed locked.

"I need some water love." Edward said, taking my hand and leading me off the dance floor. I waved to Alice and Jasper and followed Edward to the closest bar to get some water.

After we both sucked down a bottle of water each, we headed to the left to find Rose and Emmett who were dancing to a constant mix of music that changed from _The Joker_ to _It Wasn't Me_ to _Tainted Love_ all within a five minute time span. We once again danced together this time our movements a little more free, our hands able to roam each other's bodies a little more.

Edward was such an amazing dancer and the way his body felt against mine was like bliss. We stayed there and danced for a while longer before Edward took my hand, leading me to the bar to get more water. Once we had our water, we stepped out onto an outdoor patio. Edward sat me down on a barstool before positioning himself in between my legs, his hands sitting on my waist.

"You are a very good dancer my beautiful Bella." Edward said as he teased my lips with his own.

"You are pretty good yourself my handsome Edward." I answered him, repeating the tease of my lips on his before deepening the kiss.

We stayed out on the patio, alternating making out like a couple of teenagers and talking about whatever happened to pop into our minds at that moment. We remained there until the bars closed down, waiting for our friends to come out and find us.

I didn't want the evening to end and I wondered if Rose or Alice would ask their respective guys back to the room. I really wanted to ask Edward back, but I wasn't sure if it was a good idea or not. I had no doubt sex with him would be amazing based on his kisses and dance moves alone, but could I do a one night stand with some random guy. _But was Edward some random guy?_

"There you are." Emmett said as he came up to us. He and Rose looked as if they had run a marathon but surprisingly enough they both still looked good. "I'm starving! Alice and Jasper will be here in a moment and we are thinking about heading to Denny's to get some breakfast."

You just cannot beat breakfast at three in the morning after a night of dancing and drinking.

"You in?" Edward asked me.

"Sure." I answered glad to have the night extended further.

To say our group of six was a little loud would be an understatement, but our waitress was very good natured and the guys were total flirts with her. We laughed the whole time we were there thanks to stories from the guys about jumping out of planes, basic training and the pranks they pulled on each other on their down time.

"So back to our room?" Rose asked after the guys settled up the checks much to the argument of us girls.

"Sounds good to me." Emmett answered her with a huge grin on his face.

Edward looked to me, raising his eyebrow as if to ask me if it was ok if he came back. I nodded my head yes without thinking twice.

The cab (really minivan) that we had taken from the club was hanging around waiting for us when we finished. We all piled back into the van and headed back to our hotel.

The room we were staying in had three bedrooms with three bathrooms attached. All three of the rooms were angled so that each bedroom had a balcony that looked out onto the ocean.

Each couple said our goodnights and separated into our rooms. Edward opened the balcony door and stood outside in the cool evening October air. When I joined him he pulled me in front of him so that we were standing back to chest against the rail looking out into the ocean. The moon was full and beautiful in the way it illuminated the water.

"I would have to say this was one of the best nights I have ever had love." Edward whispered into my ear.

"Me too." I said with a sigh as I leaned into him further.

"What time is it?" Edward asked.

"I think the clock said it was 4:30."

"Aw bugger me; we have an 8:00 Tee time. That should be fun." He said with a groan as he snuggled into my neck.

"You should get some sleep." I said as I took his hand and led him back into the room, leaving the door open a little so we could still hear the sound of the waves outside.

"Who needs sleep when I can spend the time staying awake with you?" He said with the sexiest of smirks on his face.

And that was what we did; spend time awake with one another. We kissed, we talked, we cuddled and we went out and watched the sunrise together. It was more or less a PG-13 kind of night, but it was perfect.

"Hey Cullen! Wakey wakey!" Emmett's loud voice and pounding fists hit our door around 7:15. "Time to hit the links young man."

"I guess we are playing golf today." Edward groaned as he pulled me closer to him.

"I can take you back to your room if you like." I said as he pulled away. I didn't want him to leave, fearful I would never see him again. Even if this couldn't go beyond this weekend, I still had two more days to be with him.

"Don't be daft my beauty, get some sleep, we can hail a taxi." He said before he leaned in to give me a farewell kiss.

Emmett started to pound on the door again. "I'm coming in at the count of three and I don't care if you are naked or not."

"Shut it you wanker!" Edward said as he pulled the door open stopping Emmett mid pound.

"Good you're dressed." Emmett said with a innocent acting tone to his voice.

"Edward!" I called his name desperately. "Will I see you again?" I asked. _Please say yes._

Before Edward could answer, Emmett chimed in.

"Of course you will cutie pie, we are meeting up with you fine ladies for dinner, dancing and debauchery later on this evening." He said before turning to head for the door.

"I guess that's your answer." Edward said with a grin. "A very good answer I must say."

"A very good answer indeed."

"And Bella." Edward said as he was about to walk out of my room. "I'll be sure to bring plenty of margarita salt." He said with a wink before closing my door.

I sat there on the bed for a moment, letting the weight of his words wash over me, before laying back and kicking my arms and legs around, squealing just like a little girl.

I finally drifted off to sleep about an hour later, the most delicious of salty dreams playing through my mind. This was going to be the best weekend ever!

* * *

_**A/N: Hope you liked a little beach weekend fun! Let me know what you think.**_

_**If you liked Bella from the first short in this series, Culinary Kiss, I have a story that was inspired by her called Bridges. Give it a chance. It is a love story through and through.**_

_**Much love and Edward salty kisses! **_


End file.
